​[Weekly Stock Market] Overall foreign buying trend is likely to continue

SEOUL -- The benchmark Korea Stock Price Index (KOSPI) ended at 2,423.61 last week, down 1.13 percent from a week before, as the index was predominantly pressured by foreign selling. For the first time this year, on a weekly basi

February 26, 2023

Malaysia signs $920 million deal to buy South Korean light fighter jets

SEOUL -- South Korean aircraft maker Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has secured a deal worth $920 million (1.2 trillion won) to deliver 18 light fighter jets called "FA-50" to Malaysia starting in 2026. KAI said in a press release February 24 that FA-50 was selected as the preferred bidder by Malaysia's defense ministry among six light fighters that include Russia's MIG-35, Turkey's Hurizet and India's Tejas. Malaysia has become the sixth Southeast Asian

February 24, 2023

KEPCO suffers record operating loss of $25 billion in 2022 due to soaring fuel prices

SEOUL -- The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) said February 24 that it suffered a record operating loss of 32.63 trillion won ($25.02 billion) last year, prompted by soaring fuel prices and a slow pace of electricity rate hikes. The loss was more than five times the company's 2021 operating loss of 5.84 trillion won. In the last three months of last year alone, KEPCO incurred a 10.76 trillion won loss, hitting an all-time high quarterly figure. KEPCO said that i

February 24, 2023

S. Korea launches working group to discuss intellectual property issues regarding AI-generated images

SEOUL -- South Korea has launched a working group composed of experts from various sectors to discuss issues regarding intellectual property rights over artificial intelligence-generated images. Thanks to the development of AI technologies, anyone can generate artificial images to match their preferences. However, generated images are based on datasets of pictures and drawings created by human artists. AI-generated image services became popular during the last few years as they off

February 24, 2023

Science research institute UNIST to create vegetable garden on campus

SEOUL -- A vegetable garden with various plants, a pond, and plant-based food items will be created at a science and technology university in the southeastern industrial city of Ulsan. The state institute, which earlier created an experimental living lab using energy from human excrement, aims to establish infrastructure for a carbon-neutral campus. The Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) said in a statement that the institute has partnered with a local bank,

February 24, 2023

Researchers find operating principle of key protein in RNA generation process

SEOUL -- For the first time in the world, a team of researchers from South Korea's Institute for Basic Science has found the key operating principle of Dicer, also known as endoribonuclease Dicer, a protein crucial to the generation of micro RNA and RNA therapeutic agents. The findings could help researchers analyze the cause of various cancers and develop RNA-based drugs. Dicer is an enzyme that cleaves double-stranded RNA into short double-stranded RNA fragments called mi

February 24, 2023

​Two bar associations fined $7.7 million each for membership ban on legal service platform

SEOUL -- South Korea's two bar associations were slapped with a fine of 10 billion won ($7.7 million) each for banning their members from joining LawTalk, an online platform that connects users and lawyers. On February 23, the Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) decided to impose the fine on the Korean Bar Association (KBA) and the Seoul Bar Association (SBA), stating that their ban has hindered "free and fair" competition in the legal market. The antitrust regulat

February 24, 2023

Busan-based software company develops AI solution capable of monitoring container loading condition at ports

SEOUL -- Seoahn SNC, a software company based in South Korea, has developed an artificial intelligence-based solution capable of monitoring whether containers are properly stacked at a port facility. Incorrectly stored containers can cause various safety accidents as they may collapse because of gales. The technology created by the software company in the southern port city of Busan automatically is designed to analyzes container loading conditions using light detection and ranging

February 24, 2023

​Real household income drops 1.1% in fourth quarter of last year amid soaring inflation

SEOUL -- South Korea's real household income fell 1.1 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of last year, affected by runaway inflation, according to Statistics Korea on February 23. The statistical office said that average nominal household income increased 4.1 percent to 4.83 million won in the last three months of 2022 from a year before. However, inflation-adjusted real household income dropped 1.1 percent, following a 2.8 percent fall in the third quarter of last year

February 23, 2023

Naver's travel reservation service becomes S. Korea's second-most used travel service provider: survey

SEOUL -- A travel reservation service, operated by South Korean web service giant Naver, has become the country's second-most used online travel service provider with a usage rate of 19 percent in 2022. The largest online travel service provider with a 22.9 percent usage rate was Yanolja, which also owns Interpark, a popular online ticket reservation service company. Naver, which was kick-started as a web portal service in 1999, is now South Korea's largest web service prov

February 23, 2023